Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Norio Ohga is very anxious. He has actually begun negotiations to acquire the shares held by small shareholders. Ronald's point of view is not unreasonable. In any country, foreigners have to go through the people's test to acquire a great company that is the common memory of the people.

From a legal perspective, there is nothing wrong with Sony's original plan. But if the public's dislike of the Japanese is so serious, even if it is acquired, there will be serious opposition. When Toyota entered Detroit, it aroused workers' opposition and resulted in the tragedy of Chinese American Chen Guoren being beaten to death as a Japanese.

The audience in Colombia is hundreds or thousands of times that of Chevrolet workers. If something happens, the acquisition is likely to be seized by some government department and then dragged on for a long time.

Dahe quickly found Douglas Jr., and Douglas immediately contacted George Jr. and arranged a box room for the two of them at a symphony performance in Washington, DC. The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s trip to America ends here.

Little George was not very interested in the symphony. He chatted with Norio Ohga about the barbecue and beer in Texas, as well as the tap dancing and cancan dancing there. His wife, Laura, kept reminding him not to be rude.

Strangely enough, Norio Ohga instead praised George as a sweet-tempered person, and he liked to deal with such people.

"You know Ronald and have such a good relationship. In fact, you should come to me earlier. In the White House, Congress, and Senate, many people are ready to make moves. After all, taking a tough stance against Japan is a very good way to please voters. s method."

Little George seemed very happy to be praised by Dahe, and he mentioned a few key points of the deal.

Sony's acquisition of Columbia involves Columbia's television network and movie theaters, so the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in charge is bound to have a say. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is responsible for the acquisition of domestic enterprises by foreign capital, is legally responsible for reviewing every major acquisition transaction.

In particular, CFIUS, a review committee established in 1975, was originally designed to monitor and investigate the impact of foreign direct investment in U.S. companies on national security. It has no review power over ordinary acquisitions.

But in 1988, the House and Senate passed the Exon-Florio Amendment, which greatly expanded the power of CFIUS. This allows them to investigate and block foreign investments that they suspect may pose a threat to U.S. national security.

In other words, if this committee wants to, then they can put their nose into every acquisition transaction of foreign companies, regardless of size, regardless of industry.

Any institution that is newly established or newly expands its scope of power will naturally look for victims. The previous motion of Australia's Qtex Group to acquire MGM happened to escape the hands of CFIUS after its power was expanded, and now Sony is the last one to do so. The right person.

Secretly waiting for Sony to complete negotiations with small shareholders, and then jump out to conduct national security inspections. In proposing this amendment, Donkey Party Senator Ackerson from Nebraska and New Jersey Representative Florio are the real hunters quietly lurking in the corner.

Of course, little George didn't know these details. He just remembered his mother Barbara's instructions and wanted to fight for the interests of his family.

"I heard Ronald Sands say that Mr. George is a very outstanding director of a fund that invests in Hollywood. We at Sony really hope to get the help of such a talent." Norio Ohga understood what he had to pay in order to get the key Guidance.

"Little George does have an extraordinary vision for investing in movies, and Da He Sang really has a keen eye for identifying talents." Little Douglas added next to him.

George Jr. had previously obtained a screen fund and achieved good returns from Disney. Now a big boss like Sony has personally promised that if a new fund is established on Wall Street to invest in Hollywood movies, Sony will have priority investment rights and priority in dividends in good projects.

This kind of exchange does not violate any laws, and the excessive returns obtained can also be said to be obtained because of George's leadership and connections. This kind of thing will only get everyone's praise and envy in America, and it is completely legal.

"Hahaha...", little George was very happy. He learned and applied the principles explained by his mother Barbara very well. Thanks to true friends like Ronald, after his father entered the White House, he was the only one who still paid so much attention to him and had reliable benefits for him.

"Do you know who is the pivot in the White House, the hub of interaction between the White House and Congress?"

"Which one is it?"

"That's the White House Chief of Staff, Mr. John H. Sununu." After little George got what he wanted, he revealed the person Barbara told him about.

The director with a strange name is the son of an Arab father and a Latino mother, and he himself was born in Cuba. He is also the first White House chief of staff of Arab descent in American history.

This position is not too high, but the power is very important. If CFIUS wants to make irresponsible remarks on Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures, it must go through the cooperation of the general manager. After all, the standard of what constitutes a threat to national security is too subjective. Without the endorsement of the White House, it is likely to fall into endless delays in Congress.

George Jr. accompanied Ohga Norio to visit a secretary of Mr. Sununu. The candidate introduced by the son of the great commander must be reliable. So everyone saved the process of testing each other.

As a gift, Ohga first presented a private jet in Sony America Branch for the director to use for vacation. After learning that Mr. Sununu likes stamp collecting, he kindly reminded him that there would be a mysterious collector selling some precious stamps that were ignored by ordinary collectors at the Christie's auction in New York, and there was a possibility of picking up bargains.

…

"Please, Ronald-san..." After Ohga Norio returned to New York, he met with Ronald alone. George Jr. leaked the secret. How could he not know that the so-called Douglas Jr. was Ronald's agent. He was the best friend who lent his precious network to Sony at a critical moment?

Just like George Jr.'s introduction, Sununu's secretary could quickly reveal the arrangement of the anti-Sony acquisition camp. Ronald's introduction also allowed George Jr. to let down his guard and cooperate with them with confidence.

How much precious time and repeated tests did this save? When Da He thought of this, his voice was trembling slightly.

"We will never forget Ronald-san's kindness to us. I feel very honored to have such a good friend as Ronald-san..." Da He bowed deeply to Ronald.

"You're welcome, you're welcome. If there is anything I can help you with, please feel free to tell me." Ronald also bowed. It seems that Da He's trip to Washington this time has achieved fruitful results.

"This has taught us a profound lesson. The cultural differences between Japan and the United States are very large. Although we have tried our best to integrate, there are still many places that need the guidance of real experts. I was also confused for a while and was deceived by the propaganda of some Hollywood experts. I thought that the boss of the agency was the person closest to the order of Hollywood.

But I didn't see the real key to the matter. This time I really learned a lesson. Next, there are still places where I need to trouble Ronald-san. Please continue to help us and show us the way. We will not forget this kindness."

"Okay, okay..." Ronald didn't quite understand what important help he had given Da He, so he had to laugh.

Afterwards, Norio Ohga flew to Los Angeles to command the acquisition team, quietly changed his mind, and took the initiative to contact two important members of the Congressional CFIUS Committee, Exxon and Florio, saying that he had no ambition and would acquire shares from the open market at a premium.

The two backbone figures of the committee who were determined to make achievements originally wanted to take advantage of Sony's critical time to complete the acquisition. This time, under the arrangement of the White House Chief of Staff, they met Sony, which took the initiative to cooperate, and they were a little disappointed and lost the opportunity.

On the one hand, they submitted a review report to the President to see what his attitude was. On the other hand, they also increased their holdings of Columbia Pictures and Samsung Pictures through their wives and mothers.

Similarly, such behavior is entirely due to the unique vision of their families as amateur investment experts. Senators and congressmen enjoy many investigations, including exemptions from investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission. As long as this kind of thing is not too ugly, everyone has a tacit understanding.

…

The two houses on Fifth Avenue are now undergoing security renovations under the command of bodyguard Daniel. The public housing apartment at the junction of the Bronx and the Upper East Side has been raided several times by the NYPD under public pressure.

This area with the highest housing prices in New York has such a cancer. The owners who are heartbroken by the property taxes have all expressed their dissatisfaction to the city councilors and city hall officials. Rudy saw this opportunity and launched a joint operation to clear the thugs' settlements, cracked several major black and Latino criminal gangs in one fell swoop, and arrested hundreds of thugs.

Now that the threat has been lifted, Ronald is also ready to move back with Helen after the renovation is completed. Today, the two of them happened to come to Helen's apartment to see how the designer would do the interior decoration.

"This is the script I was talking about..." Helen Slater brought the script to Ronald. She didn't pursue expensive decorations and renovations, but she cared about her own style.

Ronald paid for the renovation and renovation of furniture and appliances. The living room is full of furniture that looks restrained, but is actually made of famous designers and expensive wood, which is very suitable for Helen's personality. Only the Yamaha piano that Ronald gave is a cheap entry-level product.

However, this is a token of their love, and it is placed here to complement each other. Helen played the piano and sang while Ronald read the script.

This script, called "Happiness Together", made Ronald frown. The script tells the story of a conservative white boy from the suburbs of Chicago and a party girl who grew up in Manhattan, New York, who were mistakenly assigned to a dormitory as roommates by the computer system in college.

One of them is a liberal arts student and the other is a science student; one is a nerd and the other is a social expert; two extreme personalities, but they attract each other. Finally, when they graduated, they fell out because of their fear of the future. In the end, they reconciled on the roof and continued to work hard together in the magical city of New York.

This story looks good at first glance. It moved the high school romantic comedy shot by John Hughes and Ronald two years ago to college, and then constructed some more mature love between men and women.

But the problem is here too. The number of college students is far less than that of high school students. The potential box office market of the two is very different. After all, college students can watch high school comedies because they have experienced them, and many college students have not had any emotional experience (such as nerdy ones).

It is difficult for high school students to immerse themselves in things they have not experienced when watching college life. Moreover, this script makes college exams very scary, and students often fail. Few high school students are willing to watch it.

"Why, don't you like it?" Helen asked Ronald.

"Ah, not really, I'm just worried..."

"What are you worried about?" When it comes to acting, Helen has a strong opinion.

"Worried..." Ronald wanted to tell her about this problem.

"Are you worried about me and the male lead filming a love scene?" Helen came over and hugged Ronald, and a familiar perfume smell rushed into Ronald's nose.

"Not really... I'm worried..."

"Don't worry, the screenwriter Craig J. Nevis is a rising star in the Chicago theater world, where he made a big splash, and many critics think he is a genius..."

Ronald shook his head in his heart. This script may be suitable for stage plays because it is confined to a scene in the dormitory, which is convenient for performance. But for movies, it is not strong enough.

However, Helen likes this movie so much, if someone is willing to distribute it, then even if it loses money, it won't be much.

"Why don't you ask Kathryn Bigelow to direct it like last time? I think this script will be more outstanding in the hands of a female director..." Helen Slater's idea is very interesting.

"That's great," Ronald thought. It's always a good thing for a female director to shoot a movie about her girlfriend. "But Bigelow has Cameron to help him with a new project. I'll go ask a very promising female director, Nora Ephron, the screenwriter of my last movie."

"Well, honey, you're so nice to me..." Helen didn't realize that Ronald wanted to reduce her time with male directors. She also watched Nora Ephron's "When Harry Met Sally" during the preview and was very moved. If she had such a person to direct her, wouldn't her acting skills explode?

"Ring, ring, ring..." The phone rang, interrupting the two people who were hugging each other and kissing each other.

"Hello?" Ronald was so fired that he wanted to scold him and hang up when he picked up the receiver and told him not to call.

"Ronald, the President of the United States of America wants to talk to you." Richard's voice on the phone showed a little strange feeling. It seemed that he was suppressing his excitement.

"Oh..." Ronald quickly put Helen down from the air he was holding and let her half sit on the desk.

"Mr. President," Ronald stood straight.

"Ah..." Helen, who was still holding Ronald, was also very nervous when she heard Ronald's name. She didn't know whether to continue to circle Ronald or find a place quickly.

"Ronald, I have something to ask you." Old George's momentum was different from before, and he was straightforward.

"Please give me your orders, Mr. President."

"What do the Japanese mean? Will they come to snatch our right to speak and our proud cultural traditions? Our freedom... XX... XX..." Old George knew about his son's involvement. Ronald helped him handle other aspects perfectly, but he was not sure about the identity of this Japanese company. Will this behavior cause a reaction from the public and affect his own support?

"If you ask me what I think, I think Sony is taking a commercial action to sell their video recorders. I don't see any plan for them to promote Japanese culture and compete with us for cultural right to speak." Ronald felt a lot more relaxed when he heard about this matter.

"Can you guarantee it, Ronald? I need a definite guarantee, not an analysis. There are already enough crappy analysts in the White House." Old George had an idea. It would be great if Ronald could be the president of Sony Columbia after the merger. In the future, the company would be under the management of American tradition. There are too many Jews in Hollywood and the media industry.

"I can't guarantee it, Mr. President."

"If you can't guarantee it, will you let George Jr. participate?" The President's power is growing day by day.

"Mr. President, if I can tell you my thoughts, why Sony will never promote their Japanese values ​​and culture."

"You can tell me."

"It's like this. I met with several Japanese entrepreneurs this time. There are actually two types of them. One is the conservative and stubborn MITI faction, which clings to the outdated idea of ​​closing the market and monopolizing the Japanese economy... The other is the Ozang faction, which actively embraces the international market and the values ​​of the allies led by America..."

"Well, go on."

"Sony's domestic business only accounts for a small part of their overall revenue. Their largest markets are America and free Europe... So, they will not go against money.

If such a company does not cater to American values, there is no hope of growth. And we can also take this opportunity to use their money to promote American values ​​around the world..."

"Very good insight, Ronald, you impressed me." Old George thought of the Japanese prime ministers he had dealt with. Those from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry were all ugly and made him uncomfortable. On the contrary, those from the Ministry of Finance were very humble and even had a lighter English accent.

"Barbara also told me about you. I haven't seen her for a long time..."

"Ah, I will visit her in Washington..."

"That's it..." The president hung up the phone.

"Is he really the president of America?" Helen's eyes lit up, looking at her lover with tenderness and sweetness. He is really a good man.

"Nothing, he asked me to consult about something..."

"Oh..." Helen was softened by this way of speaking, her face suddenly turned red, and she hugged Ronald tightly, "I like you so much, Ronnie."